Friday Happy Hour

About this time of year, we’ve had all we can take of winter. Sunny days make us bold, so we risk going without a scarf and gloves, then curse our foolish optimism by the end of another frigid day. We complain a lot about being tired, and forget that there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation: S.A.D.

According to experts, seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.) isepisodes of depression that occur every year during fall or winter. The official symptoms are things like “afternoon slumps,” “loss of interest in work,” “social withdrawl,” and “unhappiness and irritability.”

Afew years ago, some friends and I were experiencing all of thosesymptoms times one million. We missed our rinky-dink summer share inFire Island and the relaxing weekends spent there grilling. We also missed thecarelessness provided by the official drink of Fire Island–RocketFuel–a pina colada made with Bacardi 151 and an amaretto floater.

Sowe threw a S.A.D. party. (We threw it midFebruary when things were really bleak, but it works any time inwinter and is now an annual tradition.) The requirements for a S.A.D. party are as follows:

1.
Tropical drinks: Colorful straws and paper umbrellas encouraged.
2.
Do not ask people to wear costumes: When it’s cold and you’re S.A.D., just getting out of the house is annoying enough.
3.
Photos:Everyone has to make a S.A.D. face and be photographed alone. Youcan look back at the pictures next winter when S.A.Dness peaks as a reminderto throw another party.

If this sounds like somethingyou might want to do this weekend, here’s the drink for the occasion. It’s no Rocket Fuel, but let’s be honest, that’s probably a goodthing.